It’s a Saturday doubleheader in the 4 Nations Face-Off with Sweden and Finland getting things started in Montreal.
Sweden got the highly anticipated tournament underway in a high-intense thrilling matchup against Canada, where they rallied from multiple two-goal deficits but fell short in a 4-3 overtime loss.
The next night, Finland took the ice and despite holding a 1-0 lead over the heavily favored USA squad, they couldn’t hold on as the United States scored six unanswered goals — including four from the Tkachuk brothers Matthew and Brady, who each had a pair — in the dominant 6-1 victory over Finland.
Both countries need a regulation win to keep their marginal hopes alive of making the championship game.
Here’s what you need to know for this afternoon’s Sweden vs. Finland matchup in today’s 4 Nations Face-Off contest:
TV: ABC
The Sweden vs. Finland round-robin contest will air on ABC.
Sweden and Finland 4 Nations Face-Off game starts at 1 p.m. from the Bell Centre.
Streaming options for this 4 Nations Face-Off matchup includes ESPN+.
Puck line: Sweden -1.5 (+140), Finland +1.5 (-166)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 goals (-102), Under 5.5 goals (-118)
Moneyline: Sweden -198, Finland +164
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey as of Saturday, Feb. 15.
Sweden showed lots of fight after rallying from the aforementioned multiple goal deficits twice in the opener against Canada.
It also didn’t help that the Swedish were down 1-0 less than a minute in after William Nylander took a high-sticking penalty that resulted in Nathan MacKinnon scoring the opening goal of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Sure, Finland should bounce back after a brutal third period against the United States where they surrendered three goals in the first three minutes to essentially put the game out of reach with 17 minutes of game time left.
However, Sweden will be too much to overcome here, as the Swedish keep their title hopes alive with a regulation victory over Finland.
Prediction: Sweden 4, Finland 2
USA: 3 points (1-0-0-0)
Canada: 2 points (0-1-0-0)
Sweden: 1 point (0-0-1-0)
Finland: 0 points (0-0-0-1)
Each country will play one game against the other three countries during the round robin stage. Teams will earn three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win and one point for if they lose in the overtime/shootout. The two teams with the best records will face off against one other in the championship game.
Games will be played under NHL rules, with the lone exception being that overtime will now feature 10 minutes of 3-on-3 sudden death throughout the round robin portion unlike the NHL’s five minutes. If it’s still tied after 10 minutes, the game will then go to a shootout. During the championship game, overtime is just as it is in NHL playoff overtime: 5-on-5 hockey for 20-minute periods with the next team that scores a goal wins the game.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
